


Angels and Demons

by Marshmallow_Mel



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Drug Use, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, It hurts with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:49:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29867340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marshmallow_Mel/pseuds/Marshmallow_Mel
Summary: With her imminent demise looming over her head like a dark cloud, V decides she needs a night to let loose, and there was no better place than the Totentanz. Drugs, drinks, and mind numbing music creates a heady mixture to drown out her demons, including the one over taking her mind: Johnny Silverhand.
Relationships: Female V/River Ward, V/River Ward
Comments: 8
Kudos: 29





	Angels and Demons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sullivain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sullivain/gifts).



> For an art swap with @Sullivain  
> Thank you for drawing me butts <3  
> Prompt: Angels and Demons by Jxdn

V's head was swimming with a mixture of Sugar and tequila, standing outside of Totentanz in a pair of black denim shorts and a golden bustier. She swayed as she pulled River up on the holo, only vaguely aware that her _beloved_ rockerboy parasite was perched on a bit of refuse nearby. _C'mon, V. Not the fucking pig._

She glared daggers at him. _Ex pig. And best dick I've had in ages. But if you keep bitchin' I can take a blocker right now._

He glitched right in front of her, aviators missing as he examined her silver optics. _Wouldn't work. Not with the shit you're on._

She waved him away with a roll of her eyes when she heard River's voice. “V, are you okay?”

Her lips curled into a devilish grin, twirling a lock of blue gray hair between her fingers. “'M wonderful. Was thinkin' we could finally get to that round two you promised me.” She was purring out the slurred words, eyes half lidded, desire already pooling between her legs.

“You're drunk.”

“And you're a buzzkill.” She could hear Johnny's voice laced over her own as she spoke; was he influencing her or did she just agree with him? Her mind was too fuzzy to think about it. She lit a cigarette, letting the nicotine buzz beneath her skin. In a less compromised state, she would have worried about the action mirroring Johnny's too closely, but right now she just needed to keep her brain gloriously numb..

“V.” His voice was firm, walking a razor's edge between anger and disappointment. “What are you on?”

Looking away, she took a long drag, her jaw clenched tight. “Who says I'm on anything?” She'd called him for a good time, why the hell did he feel the need to kill her buzz?

“Where are you? I'm coming to get you.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, venom seeping into her voice unbidden. “Don't bother, I'll call a Del.”

“V, please.” His voice was softer, strained, shaken. “I just need to know you're safe.”

She rolled her eyes, prepared to tell him just where he could stick his concern, when she heard Johnny in her ear just like a demon on her shoulder. _Good girl, tell ‘im he can fuck right off._

As pissed as she was at River, the arrogant tone of his voice made her blood boil. “Fine. I'm at the Totentanz. Ping me when you get here, I'm going back inside.” She ended the call without another word, before stomping her way back into the club.

It took her a few minutes, but eventually V located the dealer from before and “talked” him into a sweet 2-for-1 deal. In the end, she got the two bags for free. Satisfied with her purchase, she slipped the tanto back into her thigh holster, moving to the bar for another tumbler of tequila. Drink in hand and drugs in her pocket, she found a secluded booth where the pounding of the bass muffled the mess of thoughts tumbling around her mind.

_You can't just drown me out, V._

She ignored him, dumping the contents of one baggie onto the table and arranging them into neat rows before her. Numbness took over her body as she washed the lines down with the tequila. _'Nuff tequila and I won't fuckin care._ V leaned back, letting the heartbeat of the club quell her anger and fuel her high.

But when someone suddenly touched her thigh, she could only react, pulling them off balance and pushing the knife to their throat. Between the bouncing red lights of the club and her swimming vision, it took a moment to register that it was River. His expression was unreadable, but the way his throat was bared, chest rising and falling with each heavy breath, made her want to climb him like a tree. _Let the whole club watch as he took her, claimed her, used her for his pleasure._

The knife clattered to the floor as she claimed his mouth with her own. His lips were not pliable the way they had been that night at the water tower, even as he tangled his hand in her hair. He tugged sharply at the base of her neck, pulling her away from him. With the pounding heartbeat of the club pulsing all around them, it was impossible to speak or hear, but the look in his eyes combined with the shake of his head told her all she needed to know.

River dragged V through the sea of undulating bodies that was the Totentanz, all the way to the elevator and out of the building. He didn't say a word as he slammed the door of his truck behind her, before climbing into the driver's seat and pulling away. Johnny was buzzing irritably around her head, but her own anger drowned him out as it simmered beneath her bronzed skin, no longer dulled from the high she was riding. “Why did you even come?”

He didn't answer, just drove silently through the streets of Watson to her apartment. The drive was short yet tense as River glared at the street ahead, V glared out the window, and Johnny ranted to deaf ears. After everything that’d happeend, she was surprised when River followed her to the elevator and again through the door of her apartment. “You gonna fuck me now?”

“No. I'm just here to make sure you don't die in your sleep.”

She smiled, full of venom as she practically spat at him. “Sorry to tell you, _sweetheart_ , but I'm already dyin', might as well have some fun in my last days. But wait, you fuckin' ruined that.” She had started undressing while she spoke, leaving a trail of clothes as she headed for the shower to scrub the sweat and god knew what else from her skin.

The water had barely started when the malfunction hit. Her vision glitched blue streaks as she crumpled to the floor with a shout, spewing blood and vomit as she retched. River was kneeling next to her in an instant, just as he had when she'd nearly flatlined from Rhyne's spiked BD. His organic hand stroked warm soothing lines down her back as she spilled her guts. Blackness crept in around her, but the last thing she heard before losing consciousness was River. “It's okay, baby. I've got you.”

***

V woke with a violent pain in her head, much worse than the Relic-induced migraines she usually had first thing in the morning. She could scarcely will herself to move from her fetal position until she felt a heat against her skin. Opening her eyes, she found River lying next to her, reaching out for her in his sleep. She smiled, letting his strong arm pull her in and nuzzling into the crook of his neck. That was when his eye fluttered open, fixing her with a hard stare.

“How do you feel?”

“Like shit.” Her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper. “But better with you here.”

His face twisted, a mixture of anger and sadness painting a darkness onto his warm skin. “Remember anything?”

“Some flashes, maybe. Why?”

“The drugs? The drinking? The fucking knife you held to my throat?” He closed his eyes, inhaling shakily through his nose. “Then when I brought you home you passed out in the shower after puking up blood. V, I—” His voice cracked, tears threatening to spill from his organic eye. “I thought you were dyin'.”

She sat up slowly, pushing her back against the blessedly cool metal of the wall. Her knees came up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. “River, I am dyin'. No one in the world can help me now.” She choked in deep breaths, willing the pain in her head to subside—it didn't listen.

River pushed himself off the bed, pacing the floor. “I refuse to believe that. And it doesn't give you the right to try and kill yourself with drugs and alcohol.”

“I was just tryin' to have a good time...” It was a bad excuse and she knew it. Her actions last night had been self-destructive, a defense mechanism against the voices constantly clouding her head. And while River didn't understand the barrage of anger and grief that assaulted her mind, he was here trying to help. Trying to save her from herself. When she looked up at him, he was bathed in the golden light of the rising sun, silhouetting him like a halo. An angel sent to save her from her despair. It was enough to bring her to tears. “I'm scared. And I'm so tired of fighting.” She choked between sobs that shook her whole body. “Fighting gangoons. Fighting Arasaka. Fighting myself. I... I just wanted to numb the pain... Just for a night.”

River sat back on the bed and pulled her into his arms. And there she sat, sobbing into his chest until she was drained. He smoothed her hair, shushing softly, whispering sweet things until her shoulders had stopped shaking. “Baby, you don't have to handle this all on your own. I'm here for you, let me help you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sugar is a party drug from the Cyberpunk RPG books, I'm not sure it appears in game though.  
> Big thank you to all the lovely enablers in the Lizzie's Bar discord server, you guys fuel my creativity and I will always be thankful!  
> Please support my other socials: https://linktr.ee/Marshmallow_Mel


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